Blair attempts to bury recent scandals under a pile of new policies

Tony Blair aimed to shrug off the cash-for peerages affair today by pledging a blizzard of new policy plans.

The Prime Minister signalled a range of highly

controversial reforms in the next few weeks, including a new welfare crackdown, moves to stop climate change and a decision on splitting the Home Office.

He was clearly aiming to disprove Whitehall

grumbling that the Government was grinding to a halt because of the damage to his authority from his imminent retirement and the turmoil of the

honours row.

Among the plans were:

• A crackdown on the workless, including new moves to get single mothers and the long-term unemployed off benefits and into work. Mr Blair said a review of policies for combating "economic inactivity" by the Portland Trust chief executive David Freud would lead to new measures.

• A decision would be taken in "weeks" on whether to split the Home Office into two departments, dealing with security and justice. Mr Blair came very close to saying

he backed the idea, which has been resisted in

Cabinet.

• New plans to tackle divided communities and the threat o f radical

Islamic extremists to be unveiled shortly by

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly.

• The energy White Paper and the climate change Bill to be rushed out by Easter, signalling moves to make people and industry pay more for activities that pump carbon into the air — although not forcing an end

to cheap air travel.

Mr Blair appeared relaxed, however, during a two and a half hour grilling by senior MPs, and referred repeatedly to his looming departure after 10 years in power and his desire to set the Government's direction for the next decade.

He began the session with a 10-minute presentation on the "emerging conclusions" of a policy review which some critics say is seen by Blairites as a way of binding Gordon Brown's hands. But he defended his insistence on reforms to give more choice in public services.

"If I were to make a criticism of the Government on choice, I would say "Go further and faster", not "Don't go there at all’," he said.

It had been billed as the PM's final twice-yearly appearance before the liaison committee of senior Commons chairmen.

But chairman Alan Williams announced that Mr Blair had agreed to a valedictory session, even if it means bringing it forward from the scheduled date in mid-July. That appeared to be a rare admission by No 10 that Mr Blair might step down before July.

• David Cameron today made his first policy commitment of a future Tory

government — ensuring he is home in time to bath the children.

He said he was convinced he could be a "good

party leader and a good dad" and he saw no reason why that should change.

Raft of measures aimed at silencing critics:

Problem families

The Prime Minister said tearaway families should

have their benefits cut.

The sanction — which No10 has floated before

— was listed by him along with other forms of

possible punishment for anti-social behaviour.

"In my view, you're going to have to say to some of these families, before they get into serious lawbreaking, 'You're off the rails, we're not going to carry on supporting you through the benefits system or putting large amounts of money into social services unless you

are within a proper structured

environment'."

Environment

Tough action must be taken to curb carbon emissions, Mr Blair said. "We have done better than most... but we haven't done well enough," he said.

But Mr Blair said he did not expect people to give up cheap airline travel or driving. "If you did you would simply get a backlash," he said.

New energy-saving technology would make such activities less damaging. But the biggest need was for an international deal to make industries pay for the carbon they emit.

Foreign

Mr Blair cautioned his successors against turning away from Britain's close alliance

with the United States.

"My plea to people is for God's sake do it consciously," he said.

"Don't, kind of, drift into it... It is a big, big thing for us to decide as a country."

He went on to defend his "highly interventionist"

use of the armed forces, saying that "hard

power" was needed to make "soft power" projects such as aid effective.

"I think that is a huge question for the future. Do we want to continue on that path or do we want, for example, to choose a more European way over an American way?"

Iran

Mr Blair extended an olive branch to Iran,

saying that military action was not currently

being planned.

"Nobody is talking about military intervention in respect of Iran but people are increasingly alarmed and concerned at the strategy they appear to be pursuing," he said.

The PM said "all sorts of doors would open" for

Iran if the leadership abandoned the development of nuclear weapons and stopped bankrolling and